Spirit Bound Lissa's POV
by fictionfervor
Summary: Spirit Bound from Lissa's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So this is going to be my entry for the shadowkissed fanfic competition. I actually had started another story and only got to finish one chapter before I thought a little more about my brilliant scheme. Having a different point of view as to how I think Last Sacrifice will be like is great, but fanfiction just makes me confuse what is real (or in the actual books) and what's the fans' points of view. So finally I decided, why not have a fanfic about one of the other characters in the series? Then, it was pretty simple to decide that I wanted to write about Lissa, considering that I think I can portray her feelings best, and that I wanted to recreate the Spirit Bound. I mean, I might as well have this leading up to Last Sacrifice. :D

And now for my lame title. Since I have to write 10,000 words in one week (which sucks, but the Thanksgiving holidays and NaNoWriMo will help me along), I'll keep this simple. I'll be holding a little contest, I guess. When you review this story, just add a suggestion for the name of the fanfic. It can be funny, serious, related to spirit, related to the books, related to whatever. Anything. Then I'll choose a winner on, I suppose, November 29th or 30th (depending on the feedback). Then I'll figure out what to do next. Which will probably be giving you the next chapter before everyone else. Or something like that. :) So remember to tell your other VA-loving, fanfiction-adoring friends!

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**Chapter One**

I DON'T LIKE CAGES. BUT I was trapped in one, trying to break through this car that was swerving dangerously on the icy road. I screamed and kept on screaming as I watched my parents get hit by the windshield. Andre slumped forward, and Rose attempted to shield her head in vain. Pieces of glass dug into my skin as I screamed, screaming "Andre! Mom! Dad! Rose!" I started sobbing. And then I woke up.

I stared at the ceiling above me. The accident was three years ago. Three years ago. I was almost eighteen already. And yet I'd never gotten rid of the horrible nightmare that seemed to follow me wherever I went. It subdued a little over the years, but it still hurt to think of my deceased parents and brother.

Standing up and walking over to the bathroom, I rubbed my eyes and attempted to make my reflection in the mirror more cheerful. I knew what day it was. Rose's trial. Grinning, I brushed my platinum hair carefully. Rose didn't need these trials. It might be even easier for her to skip them.

But I knew that wasn't what Rose was worried about these days. Dimitri – the love of her life, the guy that turned Strigoi against his will – kept sending her "love letters," ones that claimed to show his love when, really, he was counting down the days to her death.

I frowned. Dimitri used to be one of the greatest dhampir guardians I'd known. He'd been slated to be my guardian when I graduated. But then, the Strigoi attack happened, and that killed Rose. Rose left St. Vladimir's – our school – to kill Dimitri in Russia. And she left me here.

I remembered the long weeks she'd been gone, how agonizing it was not to see Rose. Stupid one-way bond.

I suppose I should explain. There are two types of vampires in the world. Moroi are the good vampires, never killing for blood. Moroi are born and can use one of five elements. Strigoi kill for blood and are created. They're super strong and super fast. They love hunting the Moroi.

And that's where the dhampirs come in. Dhampirs are half-Moroi, half-human. Since the dhampirs have attributes that the Moroi don't, like better strength and no hindrance from the sun, they're our guardians. They protect us from the Strigoi. Like Rose does for me. Like Dimitri used to do.

But then, Rose and I have a special connection. I mentioned how the Moroi have different elements – fire, water, earth, wind, and spirit. The last one is the most rare, yet that's what I have. Spirit comes from within you and can do all sorts of things: healing, walking dreams, seeing auras, super-compulsion, and – the scariest of all – bring people back from the dead. And that's what I did to Rose. I brought her back from the accident, so now she's one of the shadow-kissed. She's bonded to me, so she knows EVERYTHING that I think and feel. Which gets really annoying sometimes.

But it's not healthy to be bonded to more than one person. Recently, I met another spirit user named Avery Lazar – and even at the thought of her I cringed – who bonded with two people. And she wanted to bond with me so that I'd give her more power. Long story short, she didn't succeed and instead went insane.

There were some things, however, that she messed up in my life before I revealed her true intentions. Like what happened between me and Chr –

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ Gosh, that alarm was annoying. I glanced at it, seeing that it was already 7:30. Rose's trial would start soon.

I finished with my morning preparations and wandered the campus, trying to find Rose. It was likely that she'd already be at the stadium, but I doubted –

There. Rose was walking across the grass toward the huge stadium, looking dazed. I grinned. She didn't seem to be paying attention to my thoughts in the bond, so I could sneak up on her and say good luck.

I caught up with her stride, having to run across the green grass in the warm sunlight that made me slightly uncomfortable. Finally I reached her. "You look like you're ready to face an army," I said with a teasing smile.

Rose looked up and gave a twisted smile. I frowned slightly, wondering what was bothering her. "I kind of am facing an army," she said.

Laughing, I tossed my hair back. "I suppose. I didn't think you'd really be all that worried."

Rose countered, "I'm worried about how these grades will affect my future."

That was true. These trials would affect which Moroi she was assigned to – and, oh, did I want her as my guardian. Rose had black marks on her record – because she'd dropped out of school for two years with me to protect me and for those few weeks that she'd hunted Dimitri in Siberia. But I was sure that Rose would do well on these trials. "Alberta thinks there's a good chance we can stay together – that you'll still be my guardian."

Rose grimaced. "I think Alberta was saying that to keep me in school." I frowned, certain that Alberta wouldn't lie to me. Would she? "I think Alberta knows the only way they'd let me protect you is if I was the last guardian on earth. And even then, my odds would still be pretty slim."

We neared the stadium, the roars of the crowd growing louder. "I'm not giving up hope," I said. And I knew she knew it through the bond. I wouldn't give up. I smiled and stopped walking. "And I've got something that might help you out today." I reached into my jeans pocket and produced a tiny silver ring. The charm infused with spirit that I'd spent the entire last night to charm.

Rose's eyes widened. "Oh, Liss ... I don't know. I don't want any, um, unfair advantage."

I rolled my eyes. Liar. "That's not the problem, and you know it. This one's fine, I swear. This one works. Only a little, but it'll help keep the darkness away during the trial." And Rose wasn't stupid. She knew that she had to keep the darkness – one of spirit's side effects – at bay.

Rose smiled a little and took the ring, sliding it onto her pinky. "Thanks."

I was delighted. We continued walking, and Rose commented, "Hard to believe that after this, we'll be done here and out in the real world."

I froze. That one sentence reminded me of a million promises. I'd promise to go with Rose on her next crazy adventure – and, unfortunately, that would lead me to breaking Victor Dashkov, my enemy, out of prison. I hated Victor. I'd treated him as an uncle before and he'd used my magic to heal him – out of greed. As I got worse from spirit's effects, he'd used me for his own needs.

But I had to do this for Rose. Breaking Victor out of prison might be the only way she could save Dimitri from the terrible state he was in. Victor's half-brother, Robert Doru, apparently was also a spirit user and allegedly saved a Strigoi. I wasn't sure if I believed it – after all, I'd brought Rose back from the dead – but I had to help Rose either way. I was not going to be separated from her like last time.

Rose noticed my reaction and tried to fill the silence. She was interrupted by one of the guardians who instructed the dhampirs. "Hathaway!" he barked. "Nice of you to join us. Get in there now!"

My worry evaporated, and I hugged Rose quickly. "Good luck. Not that you need it."

Rose was led away by the guardian, and I didn't see her until her trial.

I watched, wide-eyed, as Rose performed impossible tasks. She fought the mock Strigoi – guardians acting as Strigoi – across obstacles over the arena. The most remarkable was when she convinced the "Moroi" she was guarding onto a bridge to escape the "Strigoi" following them. Then they were surrounded. Rose cut the ropes on the bridge and let the "Strigoi" fall to the ground and continued on, as if nothing happened.

And then she was done. I couldn't believe it. The best of all the dhampirs – of all the future guardians – was my best friend. I was proud of her.

Then came her molnija mark ceremony. Truthfully, guardians were supposed to get their promise mark before they made any Strigoi kills, but Rose already killed many – although with devastating consequences. Her neck was already covered in molnija marks when the tattoo artist added her promise mark. And that was it. My best friend was a guardian.

Rose looked across the room and met my eyes. I grinned at her, although her face was contorted with worry. _Get that look off your face_, I thought. _You shouldn't look that anxious, not today. You need to celebrate._

And we did celebrate. Rose's father – Abe Mazur, who she called a "pirate mobster" occasionally – threw a party worthy of the Moroi queen. She had her party, meeting all kinds of people who congratulated her on her new title. I started walking over to Rose, about to congratulate her –

Oh, no. Christian. Christian was at the party. I assumed as much, considering that he was still good friends with Rose. He was talking with her, probably saying his kudos to her. He was shadowed by Jill. I clenched my teeth at the sight of Jill. She was a Moroi freshman and probably wouldn't have caught my attention if she didn't hang out with Christian all the time. I turned away.

_Calm down_, I told myself. _There's no reason to get mad at Rose's party._ But the more I thought about Christian and Jill together, the more I glanced their way. And the more I glanced their way, the madder I got. Eventually, my feelings must have broken through and Rose glanced at me. Christian noticed and followed her gaze. His face hardened. I quickly turned toward the nearest guy – a recently graduated dhampir – and started flirting with him. I couldn't help glancing at Christian out of the corner of my eye, though. Once I saw Christian leave Rose, I wrapped things up with the guy I'd been talking to – I felt really sorry for using the guy – and walked over to Rose. She was talking with her father, apparently about something confidential. I didn't want to intrude their family talk, but I was curious. So I lingered near where they were.

"... You didn't actually go there, did you?" said Rose. I frowned. What were they talking about?

Abe snorted. "Of course not. I wouldn't set foot in that place. I simply worked my network." Rose's father supposedly had many connections with both the vampire and human world, making bribes with all sorts of people. That was why he was known for his notorious reputation.

"Where is that place?" Rose said, sounding slightly curious.

Abe squinted at his daughter. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm curious! Convicted criminals always disappear without a trace. I'm a guardian now, and I don't even know anything about our own prison system. Is there just one prison? Are there lots?" I froze. Rose wasn't talking about ...

Abe paused. "There's more than one. Victor's in the worst." That name made me cringe and almost made me spill my punch. "It's called Tarasov."

I had it. I left the room, texting Rose a note that I returned to my own room to get some rest for tomorrow's ceremony. But I couldn't even think about tomorrow as I lay on my bed. I was rewinding that conversation over and over again. I hoped Rose wasn't paying attention in our bond. All that would accomplish was her guilt over bringing me to Tarasov. To free Victor.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep. And today I graduated from St. Vladimir's. I looked around at the many boxes – already packed – and got up to start the day.

Time passed. I don't know how it passed that quickly, but it did. Before you knew it, everyone was throwing their caps in the air. I soon followed suit, though I was daydreaming – or more like having a nightmare – about what could go wrong once we freed Victor. But I couldn't believe it. I'd just graduated. Almost fourteen years of my life, done. Gone.

I walked out with all the other Moroi graduates, the dhampirs following. And I realized something.

My name is Vasilisa Dragomir, Lissa for short. I am a Moroi with the rarest elemental magic possible – spirit. I am the last of my family line. I was tortured by my "uncle," Victor Dashkov, and I am about to break him out of his prison with my best friend, the now-guardian dhampir Rosemarie Hathaway, Rose for short, to free her long-lost love Dimitri Belikov stuck in his terrible Strigoi state. My own love life sucks, to put it simply. And my life at the school I'd been raised in has just ended. Now I am out in the real world, and Strigoi will follow me everywhere I go.

Well, that certainly makes my life harder.

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**A/N**: I thought I did well. Do you think so?

And if you're wondering why I reviewed a little in this fanfic (with what Moroi, Strigoi, and dhampirs are), here's my explanation: I want this to be like the books. And all the books reviewed, so it would make sense to add this too. Plus, it's interesting to know Lissa's perspective of the way things are.

So remember to review and enter a suggestion for the title! ^_^ And thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** ***yawn*** So don't blame me if this chapter sucks. I'm tired. And I have to finish my NaNoWriMo word count for today.

Thanks for the great review, **chizakura**!

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**Chapter Two**

"Liss, we're here."

I looked up at the sound of Rose's voice. From my window seat, I could see that the airplane was landing. As we reached the Royal Court in Pennsylvania, I thought of what my future was now. The Royal Court would now be my home. I'd be living near important politicians in the Moroi world. I myself would be important to the Moroi world.

"Come on, Liss," Rose said, getting up. Outside, the air was full of the scent of sweet-smelling flowers. Trimmed trees and elegant vines decorated the exterior of the towering stone buildings. Elaborate fountains and statues of past monarchs stood in wide courtyards. The place was beautiful.

I followed Rose and joined the group of St. Vladimir graduates that looked around in awe. Rose and I joined Adrian at the plane's door.

"You did bring a dress this time, right?" was the first thing that Adrian asked Rose.

"Of course. They've got some fancy things they want us to go to, aside from the main reception." Rose paused. "Although, they might give me my black-and-white for that."

Adrian shook his head and started moving his hand toward his pocket and dropped it. He probably wanted a pack of cigarettes right now. "I mean for tonight. For dinner." Was it just me, or did he seem to be nervous?

Rose glanced at me, a question in her eyes. I had no idea what Adrian was talking about, so I shrugged. Rose turned back to Adrian. "What dinner?"

"The one I set up with my family."

"The one you –" Rose skidded to a halt. I wouldn't be smirking right now if I were Adrian, but I guess he thought she wasn't going to punch him. I wouldn't be so sure about that. "Adrian!"

I glanced around at the graduates who gave us curious looks as Adrian countered, "Come on, we've been going out a couple months. Meeting parents is part of the dating ritual. I've met your mom. I even met your scary-ass dad." I frowned. When did Adrian meet Abe? "Now it's your turn. I guarantee none of my family's gonna make the kind of suggestions your dad did." Hmm. So Rose's dad apparently met Adrian and threatened him. This was getting kind of interesting.

"Just your parents? Any other family I should know about?" Rose asked.

"Well ..." It was interesting to see Adrian a little nervous about this. "My favorite great-aunt might stop by."

"Tatiana? She hates me! You know what happened the last time we talked." Apparently, the queen of the Moroi world yelled at Rose, upset about her messing up her Royal Majesty's plan of getting me and Adrian together. Ridiculous.

"I think she's come around." From what Rose told me, I found that highly unlikely. Yet Adrian claimed to know his great-aunt pretty well ...

"Oh, come on."

"No, really. I talked to my mom the other day, and ... I don't know. Aunt Tatiana doesn't seem to hate you as much." Huh, I wonder why. We continued walking.

"Maybe she admires your recent vigilante work," I suggested.

"Maybe," Rose said, but from her tone, I could tell she didn't believe it. "But I suppose I'll still go ..."

Adrian smiled and kissed her cheek as we reached the other group, who had stopped to get a tour of the Court. "I'll make it up to you," he promised. "How about a date right now? We can ditch this tour."

I glanced at Rose. Rose replied, "No, sorry. Liss and I already had plans this entire afternoon."

Adrian, slightly downhearted, said, "Well, you girls do your own thing. I'll pick you up at five-thirty." With a vampire nocturnal schedule, dinner was usually around five or six A.M.

We dropped off our belongings at our new rooms. As Rose led me across a courtyard, I asked, "Are you going to tell me yet what this other part of your plan is?"

Rose said, "We're going to see Mia."

I smiled. Though Mia used to be one of my worst enemies, she was now one of my most trustworthy friends. But how would she know ... "You think Mia knows how to break into a prison?"

Rose shook her head. "Mia's good, but I don't think she's that good. She can probably help us get intel, though."

Intel. "I can't believe you just used the word intel. This really is turning into a spy movie." But I knew my complaint masked my nervousness and worry.

We reached Mia's apartment and met her as she opened the door, wide-eyed. "Well, I'll be damned."

I cracked a smile, and Rose laughed. "Nice to see you too. Can we come in?"

"Of course," Mia said as she stepped aside. "You want a popsicle?"

Licking my newly acquired orange popsicle, I sat beside Rose on the couch in Mia's living room.

Mia started the conversation. "I knew the grads were coming," she said, speaking to Rose. "But I wasn't sure if you were with them or not. Did you even graduate?"

"I did. Got the promise mark and everything," Rose said, lifting her hair.

"I'm surprised they let you back in after you took off on your killing spree. Or did you get extra credit for that?"

Ah, so Mia didn't know the real reason for Rose's absence. Well, of course I had to cover for Rose. "Do you think anyone could stop Rose from doing what she wants?" I asked, smiling.

Mia laughed and bit into her popsicle. "True." Her smile faded as she stared at Rose. "And Rose wants something now."

Well, Mia was certainly getting intuitive. "Hey, we're just happy to see you," Rose exclaimed.

"I believe you. But I also believe you've got an ulterior motive."

Well, this was amusing. "What makes you say that? Can you read Rose that well or do you just always assume she's got an ulterior motive?"

"Both." Mia scooted forward and got serious again. "Okay. No point in wasting time. What do you need my help with?"

Rose sighed. "I need to get inside the guardians' main security office."

What? This was what Rose was planning? I knew that it had to be something pretty dangerous (and illegal), but the thought had never really sunk in until she uttered those words.

"Wow. You don't waste time with the little stuff," Mia said. "Of course, you wouldn't come to me with little stuff. You could do that yourself."

"Can you get me – us – in there?" Rose asked. "You're friendly with some of the guardians here ... And your dad has access to a lot of places ..."

"What are you looking for?" Okay, now Mia was starting to get curious. As Rose started to protest, she said, "No, no. I don't need details. Just a general idea so I can figure this out. I know you're not going there just to tour the place."

"I need some records."

"Personnel? Trying to get yourself a job?"

"I – no." I could see the wheels in Rose's head turning as she considered that idea. "I need some records about outside security at other places – schools, royal homes, prisons." I almost squirmed at that last one. "I figured they must keep that stuff there?"

"They do. But most of it's electronic. And no offense, but that might even be beyond your abilities. Even if we could get to one of their computers, everything's password protected. And if they walk away, they lock the computers. I'm guessing you haven't become a hacker since the last time I saw  
you." Huh. I was starting to wonder how Mia knew about all of this. Rose looked dejected. "But if the information you need isn't too current, they might still have paper copies."

Rose jerked her head up. "Where?"  
"They've got mass storage rooms, tucked away in one of the basements. Files and files. Still under lock and key – but probably easier to get to than fighting the computers. Again, depends on what you need. How old it is."

"It might be what we need," said Rose. "Can you get us in?"

Mia paused. "Possibly." Then she turned to me. "Can you still compel people into being your slaves?"

I grimaced. "I don't like to think of it like that, but yeah, I can."

Mia paused again and gave a terse nod. "Okay. Come back around two, and we'll see what we can do."

I nodded and wondered if we were going to leave now when someone knocked on the door. Almost immediately, Mia flinched and paled. She stood up, and we could hear someone's voice. "Sorry I'm early, but I –"

My eyes widened as Christian entered the room. He immediately shut up upon seeing me, but my eyes took in his messy black hair, his icy blue eyes, his dark T-shirt that clung tightly to his skin ... And yet, even with his perfection, I refused to acknowledge him.

Rose diffused the tension. "Hey, Christian," she said, attempting a warm tone. "How's it going?"

He dragged his eyes away from me. "Fine." He then glanced at Mia and said, "I can come back ..."

"No," I said, standing up. "Rose and I have to go anyway." I kept my voice cool.

"Yeah," Rose said, standing up too. "We have ... stuff ... to do. And we don't want to interrupt your ..." I flinched. I didn't want to know what they were going to do.

Mia cleared her throat. "Christian wanted to see some of the moves I've been practicing with the campus guardians." I almost glared at Mia. Instead, I chose to stare at a point slightly above their heads.

"Cool," Rose said as we headed toward the door with me skirting around where Christian stood. "Jill will be jealous."

_Oh, and now she has to mention Jill, too._ I balled up my fists. But we soon were walking away from the building.

"It's only their fight club, Liss," Rose said, trying to reassure me. "Nothing's going on. They're going to talk punches and kicking and other boring stuff."

I grumbled, "Maybe now nothing's going on. But who knows what could happen? They spend time together, practice some physical moves, one thing leads to another –" I clenched my teeth.

"That's ridiculous," Rose retorted. "That kind of stuff isn't romantic at all. Besides, Christian can't be involved with every girl he hangs out with. Mia, Jill – no offense, but he's not really that much of a ladies' man."

That wasn't true. "He's really good-looking," I said. And the thought of Christian with anyone else still made me ball my fists.

"Yeah," Rose said, but I had a feeling she was saying that only to please me. "But it takes more than that. And besides, I thought you didn't care what he did."

"I don't." Liar. "Not at all."

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**A/N:** I really do hope that I managed to portray Lissa's feelings well enough in that last scene. And, also, I still don't have any suggestions for the title. Anyone want to help? :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **And here it is! Chapter three! Also, I've been thinking about entering a oneshot of the day that Rose and Lissa met, back when they were in kindergarten, for the fanfic competition. Anyone up for it?

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**Chapter Three**

Rose left me so that she could join Adrian for her dinner party with his parents. I wished her luck and then returned to my own room. But I was too fidgety and angry and upset over Christian's appearance at our meeting with Mia. I decided to do something to pass the time, and since I needed something that required lots of concentration, I decided to try to charm something.

I searched the entire room, trying to find something silver that could be used as a charm, but came up with nothing except for a spoon. I settled down on my bed, staring at the spoon, willing it to be infused with spirit. Slowly, bit by bit, the spoon gradually became a charm, the magic swirling around me and giving me a more positive mood. Yet there was something wrong – I couldn't exactly get the right magic in the charm.

And that's how Rose found me, a few hours later, still charming the spoon.

"A spoon?" she said, amused at my choice of object.

I shrugged and put the spoon down. "Hey, it's not easy to keep getting a hold of silver. I have to take what I can get."

"Well, it'd make for happy dinner parties."

I smiled. "Speaking of which ... How was your dinner party?" I was intrigued as to how it went, considering that Rose had never been on good terms with the Ivashkov party.

"Not as bad as I thought. I never realized what an asshole Adrian's dad was, though. His mom was actually pretty cool. She didn't have a problem with us dating."

Yes, Lady Ivashkov – who preferred to be known as Daniella – was very charming, yet I didn't know she was that lax with her son's dates. "Yeah, I've met her. She is nice ... Though I never thought she was nice enough to be okay with scandalous dating. I don't suppose Her Royal Majesty showed up?" I joked. I was sure that Queen Tatiana didn't make an appearance, or Rose would have come back with the worst mood in the universe.

"She did, and ... It wasn't awful."

Whoa. Queen Tatiana showing up, and Rose not mad? It was a miracle. "What? Did you say 'wasn't'?"

"I know, I know. It was so crazy. It was this really quick visit to see Adrian, and she acted like me being there was no big deal. Of course, who knows what would have happened if she stayed?" Probably Rose would have taken a swing at Her Royal Majesty. "Maybe she would have turned into her old self. I would have needed a whole set of magic silverware then – to stop me from pulling a knife on her."

I groaned. "Rose, you cannot make those kinds of jokes." I mean, at least think them in private.

Rose only grinned. "I say the things you're too afraid to."

I smiled back. Rose had been gone so long during her trip to Russia, I'd forgotten she'd ever said that. "It's been a long time since I've heard that."

Rose gave a sad smile in return, and the rest of the night – or, actually, day – was spent just hanging out. But the day was approaching, and that meant our visit with Mia approached.

Rose sensed my uneasiness when it was time to leave. "It's going to be okay," she said as we walked across the Court grounds towards our meeting point. The sun was beating down on our backs, making me uncomfortable in the heat. "This'll be easy."

I shot Rose a look as we met up with Mia. I wondered what had happened between her and Christian. Could something have happened?

"Okay, so here's the plan. Liss, you compulse the guardian in the reception area and command him to lead you and me into the security room to turn off the cameras," Mia said. I nodded. "Then you, Rose, will continue down into the vaults to get the records. I would come with you, but I think it's best if I don't leave Lissa alone so that she doesn't run into trouble." _Plus_, I added mentally, _we don't want Mia to see what we're about to do._ We agreed with the plan, and so we entered the guardians' headquarters.

There was a guardian sitting behind a desk, filing papers into cabinets. Mia approached him, Rose and I following. The guardian smiled at Mia. "Isn't it a little late for you? You aren't here for lessons, are you?" Ah. So this was one of the guardians that helped train Mia.

Mia grinned. "Nah, just up with some friends and wanted to show them around."

The guardian arched an eyebrow – Mia's excuse wasn't that believable, as usually no one wanted to visit the guardians' headquarters – but apparently thought it was harmless. How wrong he was. He glanced at me and Rose and greeted us. "Princess Dragomir. Guardian Hathaway." Such formal titles.

"This is Don," Mia said, glancing at me. "Don, the princess has a favor to ask."

Showtime. I took a deep breath, feeling the magic about to burst to the surface. I made eye contact with Don. "Don, give us the keys and codes to the records archives downstairs. And then make sure the cameras in those areas are turned off."

Don frowned. The compulsion hadn't taken control yet. "Why would I –" But then his face smoothed. He stood up. "Of course." Opening a desk drawer, he gave a set of keys to Mia, who gave it to Rose. "The code is 4312578." I glanced at Rose, who nodded that she got it. Don opened the door that was behind his desk and pointed at a corridor on the right. "Down there. Take a left at the end, go downstairs two flights, and it's the door on the right."

Mia glanced at Rose, who nodded. "Now make sure the surveillance is off," Mia said.

"Take us there," I commanded. I risked one last glance at Rose as she entered the corridor. I really did hope that this plan didn't blow up in our faces.

Don led us down many corridors that I would easily get lost in. Finally he led us into a room full of computers, TV screens, anything that was remotely technological. There wasn't a guardian here. Really, guardians should have better security. I turned to Don. "Turn the surveillance off."

Don easily pressed a bunch of buttons that turned off a few screens that originally showed Rose looking through rows and rows of files. I hoped she was okay. The cameras were the only way we'd know if she was okay, and now we'd closed that door, too. I bit my lip. It was time to leave.

I turned back to Don. "Lead us back to the reception area."

We went through the maze of hallways again. Then we entered the reception area, and I said, "Don, forget we were ever here. Go to one of the corridors and sleep for an hour." Don nodded and started wandering away.

Mia and I walked out of the building. I really hoped Rose would appear soon. We walked to our rendezvous spot and sat on the grass, waiting.

A few moments of silence passed before Mia said, "So ... why is it that you guys want those records?"

I shook my head and said, "Sorry, can't tell you."

Mia nodded. "I expected as much."

A few more awkward moments passed by when I finally said, "What happened between you and Christian?"

"What?" Mia asked, apparently pulled from some train of thought. "Oh, Christian? He and I only practiced some fighting stances and moves. I kicked his butt." She grinned.

I fidgeted. I wasn't sure if that was all Mia and Christian had done, but I didn't want to focus on that. Rose appeared at that moment.

"Thank God," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "We thought you'd been caught."

Rose looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well ... it's a long story." Meaning that she didn't want Mia to know what happened. "I got what I needed. And ... I actually got a whole lot more. I think we can do this." I tilted my head, curious about what she learned.

Mia glanced at us, giving us a wistful look. "I sure do wish I knew what you guys were doing."

Rose shook her head as we walked back to our rooms. "No. I'm not sure that you do."

* * *

Rose had brought back an entire folder of documents about Tarasov. As we looked at blueprints, prisoner feeding schedules, guard rotations, and every document that could possibly pertain to Tarasov, Rose told me that she'd met another guardian when she was down in the vaults.

"And you didn't get arrested?" I asked in surprise.

She shook her head. "No, listen. The guardian I met was Mikhail Tanner. Ring a bell?"

Now that she mentioned it, the name did seem familiar. "Hold on. Wait, wasn't he involved with Ms. Karp?" Ms. Karp was our former teacher in St. Vladimir's who also had spirit. She'd eventually gone crazy from using it so much that she turned Strigoi to escape the magic.

Rose nodded. "Yeah. And remember, he chased her down to kill her."

"Just like you with Dimitri," I murmured, looking down on a form that had to filled out for more feeders.

Rose flinched. "Yeah. So, um, I had to tell him what I was doing –"

I looked up. "What?"

Rose tried to calm me down. "No, I only told him that I was trying to save Dimitri. He eventually gave in."

I raised my eyebrows. "What made him give in?"

Rose lowered her eyes. "You don't get it."

"What don't I get?" I demanded.

Rose looked up and met my eyes. "You've never known. Imagine if someone close to you became Strigoi – the worst possible thing you could think of. And then imagine ... imagine if you could save that person. How would you feel?"

I didn't answer. But I thought I knew. If Christian became Strigoi ... I'd do anything to save him.

But I don't care about him. No, he's gone from my life now.

Rose sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Rose pointed at the blueprint in front of her. "Just trying to make sense of this." She stared down at the map for a few moments before saying, "How good are you feeling about your charm-making skills?"

I shrugged and rolled over onto my back. "Getting better. Wish I could meet Oksana." Oksana was another spirit user we knew who lived in Siberia. Rose had met her during her quest to kill Dimitri.

"Maybe someday," Rose said. "Have you been able to put in anything besides healing? Oh, right. The spoon."

I grimaced but then yawned. It was almost five P.M. "I don't think it worked so well."

"Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"I'm thinking if you could make a few more compulsion charms, it would go a long way to help with this. We need to make people see what we want them to see."

I glanced at her, curious as to what she was getting at. But then I yawned, and Rose told me to go to bed. I soon fell asleep in the comfortable recesses of my bed.

* * *

**A/N:** So. What's that? 1885 words? Yep, I'm moving right along for my competition. If I have enough time, I'll add that oneshot. :D


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Must. Get. More. Reviews. :D

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Rose opened her door as I stood in front of it, mid-knock. "Hey," she said, grinning. She was dressed in her formal guardian wear – black slacks, white blouse, and black jacket. It looked great on her.

I smiled back. "Big day, huh?" And it was. Today was the luncheon that all new guardians attended. Moroi eligible for guardians attended the luncheon too, inspecting each new graduate. And me? I only wanted one.

We walked over to the royal ballroom, where the luncheon was held. A cluster of guardians, all dressed in black and white, gathered in one area of the room with the occasional bright color from the Moroi in their midst. These graduates weren't only from St. Vladimir's. Other schools had sent their grads, too.

Rose and I walked over to the buffet, full of rich foods like caviar and canapes. We snacked on those as Adrian approached us. Rose grinned crookedly and asked, "What are you doing here? I know you're not eligible for a guardian."

"True, but I could hardly miss a party," he said, holding up his glass of champagne. Drinking again, I see. "Have you been approached by a dozen hopeful people?"

Rose shook her head. "Who wants reckless Rose Hathaway? The one who drops out without warning to do her own thing?"

I frowned. I started to protest, but Adrian interrupted. "Plenty. I sure do. You kicked ass in the battle, and remember – everyone thinks you went off on some Strigoi-killing spree. Some might think it's worth your crazy personality."

"He's right," a voice said. I looked away from Adrian and saw Tasha Ozera, Christian's aunt, approaching us. Tasha's face was scarred – an injury from Christian's parents when they became Strigoi – yet she looked amazingly beautiful today in a lacy tank top and navy skirt. Her looks had always reminded me of Christian ...

Rose smiled, happy to see Tasha. "Have they finally let you have a guardian?"

Tasha nodded. "I think they're hoping it'll shut me up about Moroi fighting with dhampirs. Kind of a bribe."

"One you won't fall for, I'm sure."

"Nope. If anything, it'll just give me someone to practice with." Tasha's smile faded and looked uneasy. "I hope you won't be offended ... But I put in a request for you, Rose."

Wow. Well, I wasn't expecting this. I exchanged a startled glance with Rose. I mean, I hadn't expected to be the only Moroi who'd request Rose, but coming from Tasha, this was unexpected.

"Oh," Rose simply said.

Tasha hastily added, "I hope they'll give you to Lissa. But the queen seems pretty dead-set on her own choices. If that's the case ..." It was true, though. Her Royal Majesty seemed intent on keeping me and Rose apart.

"It's okay," Rose assured. "If I can't be with Lissa, then I really would rather be with you."

"Hey," Adrian exclaimed, apparently offended.

Rose shook her head, saying, "You know they'd assign me to a woman anyway. Besides, you've got to do something with your life to earn a guardian." Maybe that last sentence was a little too harsh of Rose.

Tasha's face cleared. "I'm glad you don't mind. In the meantime, I'll do what I can to help you two." Rolling her eyes, she added, "Not that my opinion counts for much."

We were joined by another visitor – Daniella Ivashkov. "Adrian," she said, smiling, "you can't keep Rose and Vasilisa all to yourself." She turned to us. "The queen would like to see you both."

We stood up, Adrian choosing to remain where he was. Daniella glanced at Tasha and gave a curt nod. "Lady Ozera." She walked away.

I'd always assumed that Daniella had been nicer than most royal Moroi, but apparently she still was prejudiced against Ozeras. I sighed. Why was it that the world was ruled by stereotypes and prejudice?

"Have fun," Tasha said, smiling. She looked back at Adrian. "More champagne?"

"Lady Ozera," Adrian said solemnly, "you and I are two minds with a single thought." I grinned.

Before we turned to leave, Rose looked back at Tasha and asked an unexpected question. "Is all your jewelry silver?" I stopped in my tracks. _Not now, Rose,_ I desperately pleaded.

"Yes," Tasha said hesitatingly. "Why?"

"This is going to sound really weird ... Well, maybe not compared to my normal weirdness," Rose added. I mentally groaned. "But could we, um, borrow all of those?" I shot Rose a look.

Tasha arched an eyebrow but still conceded. "Sure. But can I give them to you later? I don't really want to strip my jewelry in the middle of this party."

Rose nodded. "No problem." I tugged on her arm, willing her to come with me.

"I'll have them sent to your room."

And so we went to see the queen. The queen saw us and waved us over. "Vasilisa. And Rosemarie." She smiled warmly. "Vasilisa, let me introduce you to some guests. Ah, this is Richelle Szelsky, one of my closest friends. This here is Linda Drozdov; she's so very excited to meet you. Oh, this is Lily Ozera – very charming woman ..." On and on the procession of royals went, with me curtsying at every introduction. Finally, we reached the end.

"Vasilisa," Queen Tatiana said, "I was thinking you should visit Lehigh soon. Arrangements are being made in, oh, maybe a week and a half. We thought it would be a nice treat for your birthday. Serena and Grant will accompany you, naturally, and I'll send a few others." Serena and Grant had replaced Rose and Dimitri as my future guardians. "And you can go too, if you'd like, Rose. Vasilisa could hardly celebrate without you."

I brightened. This deal was wonderful. Me going to Lehigh, my first-choice college, with Rose? Her Royal Majesty really was giving me a wonderful birthday present. "Thank you, Your Majesty. That'd be great."

The rest of the evening was spent in talking with the royals to whom the queen had introduced me. But finally, I peeled myself away to change into more suitable clothes. I knew what today really was. I was nervously anticipating it the entire day. The big part of today wasn't the luncheon, it was what followed – our leaving to break Victor Dashkov out of jail.

* * *

I fidgeted in front of the mirror as I stared at my pale complexion in contrast to the dark jeans and shirt I wore. I looked normal – too normal. I didn't look like I was about to break a notorious criminal out of jail.

Finally I grabbed the silver that Tasha had sent over and headed toward our meeting spot. Rose and Eddie were already there, waiting for me. Together we headed over to an area of the Court that held all sorts of vehicles. Guardian Tanner was already there. He commented, "Gonna be a tight fit."

Rose, trying to break the tension, smiled – although it looked forced. "We're all friends here," she joked.

Guardian Tanner didn't say anything; instead, he opened the trunk of a black Dodge Charger. And, boy, was that trunk small. "Once we're far enough away, I'll pull over and let you out."

Rose said, "We'll be fine. Let's do this."

We crawled into the tiny trunk. "Oh God," I muttered. "I hope no one's claustrophobic." We were all squeezed together, cramped in the tiny space. I wouldn't have minded if Christian were here ...

Guardian Tanner closed the trunk and started the engine. The car started moving. "How long until you think we stop?" I asked, eager to get out of the cramped space. "Or die from carbon monoxide poisoning?" I rarely joked (out loud), but I wasn't feeling too good about this.

"We haven't even left the Court yet," Rose pointed out. I sighed. The sooner this was over with, the better.

After a few minutes, we came to a stop, probably so that Guardian Tanner could give an excuse for his late drive to the guardians at the gates. I fidgeted – I seemed to be fidgeting a lot these days – until finally we continued moving. We all breathed sighs of relief.

Soon after, Guardian Tanner stopped the car. The trunk opened, and I was the first one out. After a few seconds of breathing fresh air, we got inside the car. After an hour or so of driving, we arrived at a small airport where we boarded a plane to Philadelphia, where our next plane would take us to Seattle, and then to Fairbanks, Alaska – where the "fun" began.

* * *

"You know what we need?" Rose interrupted my reverie. I'd been half-dozing off in my window seat in the plane.

"A new plan?" I asked.

"A miracle?" Eddie added.

Rose turned to glare at us and then added, "No. Stuff. We need cool gadgets if we're going to pull this off." Just like those spy movies. First, intel and now gadgets? God, my best friend was turning into Agent Cody Banks.

"I thought the only tools we needed were our wits," Eddie commented dryly.

Another glare from Rose. "At the very least, we're going to need a GPS. There's only latitude and longitude on this thing," she said, pointing at the prison blueprint. "No real directions."

"Shouldn't be hard," I said, turning one of Tasha's silver bracelets over and over to charm it. "I'm sure even Alaska has modern technology."

Eddie frowned. "I hope you aren't thinking of guns or anything like that."

"No. Absolutely not," Rose assured. "If this works how we want, no one will even know we're there."

I sighed and handed her the charmed bracelet. "I don't know if this'll work, but maybe it'll give you more resistance." I'd charmed the bracelet for Rose so that Adrian, who was also a spirit user, couldn't walk her dreams. That was another quirk of spirit – walking dreams. Rose had left a note saying that we'd gone for a "girls' getaway," but we weren't sure if Adrian accepted it.

The plane started landing, and I looked out the window. I'd always assumed that Alaska was pretty much like Antarctica – full of snow banks and glaciers – but instead I saw grasslands and tall pines, lit by the bright sun. Beautiful.

This beauty made me think of the Court's own beauty. I sighed, missing the safety of the towering buildings. There I couldn't be touched. Here, I was surrounded by unfamiliar people and places – and I was about to do something that could very well land me a cell in jail.

Rose touched my arm. "Hey, you okay?"

I gave a sad smile in return. "Yeah."

* * *

"Adrian called my cell phone twice," I said, charming a ring on my bed, as Rose and Eddie entered our hotel room. They'd be scouting the prison for an hour or so while I stayed in the hotel room, making more spirit charms.

"But you didn't answer?" Rose asked as she flopped onto the other bed.

"Nope. Poor guy." Adrian must feel so left out. He'd probably consumed ten glasses of wine by now.

Rose shrugged. "It's better this way." True. Better he think we're on some girls' night out than on a jail breakout for Victor Dashkov.

"So how was the scout? What did you learn?" I said, struggling to keep a normal tone.

"There's only one way in without risking detection," Eddie said, sitting down on a chair.

Rose nodded. "The door in the back, for services like more guards, feeders, prisoners. We're going to have to sneak in."

I gulped. "There's no other way?"

Eddie shook his head. "Too many cameras and guards. We'd never get in that way."

I turned over the necklace in my hands. "So, how are we going to sneak in?"

Rose grinned. "You'll see."

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I'm slowly counting down the way to 10,000 words.


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